120 THEOSOPHY EXPLAINED

is striated in appearance with a number of straight lines
radiating from the body on all sides. These lines, rigid
and parallel during health owing to the constant radiation
of an abundance of life-force from the healthy body, be-
come, during disease, erratic, confused and drooping like
the stems of faded flowers.

The second is called the Pranic aura as it consists
of the matter of specialised Prana, constantly radiating
from the body in all directions, and has a faint bluish-white
hue, though the Prana circulating in the body has a rosy
colour. It is to the radiation of the Pranic aura that the
parallelism of the health aura is due. The Pranic aura is
often spoken of as the magnetic aura and is used in the pro-
duction of many of the physical phenomena of magnetism.

The third aura is that which expresses Kama or
desire, i.e., is the field of manifestation of Kama. From it
is formed the astral body for the man to travel in the astral
world during the sleep of the physical body. There is
little of permanency about its manifestations, as its colours,
brilliancy and rate of vibration are changing every
moment; for example, a fit of passion will charge the
whole of the aura with deep red flashes on a background
of sooty blackness, while a sudden fright will turn the
whole into a palpitating livid grey mass.

The fourth is the aura of the lower Manas, the
manifestation of the personality. From this aura the
mental body of the ordinary man is formed. It is also
used to make the mayavirupa, a body which functions on
the mental plane, but brings its owner into touch with the
astral at the same time. A person travelling consciously
in his mental body leaves his astral body behind him along
with the physical, and if he wishes to show himself upon
the astral plane for any reason, he does not send for